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Jungle Campout: A Night with Jane Goodall

You know how every year, we get the CLSP manual and heave a collective sigh because there are so few great ideas in it? Well, this is actually a program idea that came from the manual and it was so fun! I merged the idea to do a program about Jane Goodall with the grand tradition of camping in the library started by Marge and Amy and added a scavenger hunt and craft. Here we go.

So first, I read The Watcher, which also comes in wonderful DVD form, too. (I decided to have both handy, but really, I’m not sure what circumstances would cause me to go with the DVD. Losing my voice suddenly?)

Then we made our craft–a pair of binoculars! For these you just need one paper towel roll cut in half (or two TP rolls), a rubber band, and a strip of paper to decorate and go around the rubber band. Pinterest can tell you all about this craft and its variations, if you’d like to investigate further.

With our binoculars now in our hands, we were ready to search for hidden chimps in the library using a sheet of clues. While I was writing this, it occurred to me that this sheet could be another opportunity to expose some kids to new, jungle-fied vocabulary. So I made a conscious effort to beef up the wording here and I knew I was successful when I heard parents explaining what brush means.

Our chimps were pictures and stuffed animals, hidden throughout the library.

After our search came to an end, I told everyone it was time to camp for the night. Adults broke out the sheets and blankets and pulled some chairs together to form their tents/forts. I dimmed the lights and played some jungle sounds that I found on Youtube while adults read with kiddos for 15 mins.

This was a fun and easy program to put on for a crowd of around 20 and another crowd of around 15. I would think it wise to limit the size of the group so you don’t get too many kids trying to make forts in limited space. I think it’s best for ages 4-9ish, too.

Did this post help you? It took around 2 hours of my personal time to share with you. If you would like to send me a dollar for my time, I would not be opposed.